role of renewable natural gas in closing the carbon cycle

Role of Renewable Natural Gas in Closing the

Carbon Cycle

Christopher A. Cavanagh, PE

Principal Project Manager

Customer Strategy and Environmental

April 14, 2014

2

Agenda

Background on National Grid

Renewable natural gas fundamentals

Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant project and

Micro CHP

Conclusions

3

An International Energy Company

Based in US and UK

– One of world’s largest utilities

– 19 million customers

– 27,000 employees

UK Electric

UK Gas

4

…Yet, a Very Local NY Business

New York represents

60% of National Grid’s

US business

10,500 employees

2.3 million gas customers

1.6 million electric customers

3,700 MW electric generation Nearly $1 billion in annual capital investment

5

What is Renewable Natural Gas?

Pipeline quality gas derived from biomass resources that is injected

into the gas distribution network

Sources of biomass include wastewater treatment plants, landfills,

livestock manure, municipal solid waste, agricultural residues and

energy crops

Feedstock

Anaerobic Digestion / Gasification

Upgrading, clean-up, methanation

Injection of pipeline quality gas

6

How is Renewable Natural Gas

Produced?

Anaerobic Digestion (AD)

High-moisture organic material

such as wastewater, food

waste & certain livestock

manure

Microorganisms convert

organic matter into biogas

Commercially available and in

use today

Thermal Gasification (TG)

Low-moisture feedstock such

as forestry waste, crop

residue, municipal solid waste

and energy crops

Thermal breakdown of solid

biomass into syngas and

converted to methane

A proven technology likely to

reach commercial-scale

implementation within 10 years

7

Why Should It Be Considered?

Renewable Natural Gas is a here and now energy solution that

delivers the following benefits:

Lowers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by offsetting the use of

natural gas (and in some instances capturing methane that would

have otherwise entered the atmosphere)

Provides a real option for managing and using local waste

resources to produce renewable energy

Leverages the existing natural gas network to deliver a renewable

fuel for homes, business, industrial, and transportation needs

Stimulates the local economy and creates jobs

Enhances diversity of supply with a local and domestic resource

8

Renewable Natural Gas Is Interchangeable With

Natural Gas for Everyday Uses in Our Homes and

Businesses

Fleet Vehicles & Public Transportation

Fireplaces

Hot Water

Cars, Trucks, Vans & SUVs

Gas Ranges, Ovens & Cooktops

Clothes Dryers

Furnaces

9

What Is the Potential?

Recent study by American Gas Foundation (released Sept. 2011)

Finding: Under a reasonable long-term scenario, Renewable Natural Gas could be

used to meet the natural gas needs of half of all American homes.

Category

AGF Study Scenario

Non-Aggressive Aggressive Technical

Potential

Energy Potential

(billion cubic feet /yr) 967 2,485 9,450

Potential as a

Percentage of

Overall Demand*

4% 10% 40%

CO2 Abatement

(million tons/yr) 57 146 556

Direct Jobs Created

(low – high range) 8,825 – 32,189 22,692 – 82,765 86,732 – 316,338

* Based on a national usage of approximately 24 TCF of natural gas (for 2010), source EIA

10

Vision

11

Transportation Sector Is Well Positioned

to Embrace Renewable Natural Gas

The environmental attributes of renewable gas can be recognized through

Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) – EPA program

RFS sets annual mandates for renewable transportation fuels in the United

States

RFS program was created under the Energy Policy Act (EPACT) of 2005

& it was expanded and extended by the Energy Independence & Security

Act (EISA) of 2007

Requires 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022

RFS2 also established new RINs that are differentiated by type of biofuel

Renewable natural gas is considered an advanced biofuel

12

Newtown Creek Demonstration Project

National Grid and New York City Department of Environmental Protection are working together to deliver renewable gas from the largest wastewater treatment plant in New York City

Once operational, the project will

inject enough gas to provide

heat to approximately 2,500

homes and reduce CO2

emissions by about 16,000 tons

annually (equal to CO2

emissions of approximately

3,000 cars)

Picture of Newtown Creek wastewater treatment plant in Brooklyn, NY.

Source: New York City Department of Environmental Protection

13

Typical Clean-up System

Components

Source

Gas compression/Liquids knock-out

H2S Removal – Various Options

Pretreatment TSA or PSA

CO2 Separation

Multiple systems (Dry, Wet, PSA, Membrane)

Thermal Oxidizer/Flare

Balance of plant

Meters

Chromatographs

Gas sampling

Odorizers

Courtesy of Air Liquide

Greenlane Biogas Upgrading System

TSA: Temperature Swing Adsorption

PSA: Pressure Swing Adsorption

14

Simplified Process Flow

PSA

Buffer Vessels

Odorant

Pipeline Quality Renewable Gas

H2O

Gas Drying

Tail Gas

Anaerobic Digester

Compression

Vacuum Pump

CO2

Thermal Oxidizer

Tail

Gas

Vessel

“Net-Zero Emissions: A net-zero emissions building produces (or purchases) enough emissions-free RE to offset emissions from all energy used in the building” NREL/TP-550-44586

Enabling Technologies – Renewable Pipeline Gas + Efficient Buildings

Infrastructure required

Gas and electric? Gas or Electric?

NRG’s CEO predicts there will be one; the gas infrastructure.

The gas infrastructure will also be able to transport CO2

15

Net-Zero Emissions Buildings

Micro-CHP Small Renewable Energy Storage

16

Conclusions

Energy is critical to human well being

– Direct correlation to reduction of poverty and economic growth

Need to develop collaborative regulatory and government approaches

Energy can be clean

– Scale is challenge

Natural gas utilities can play a critical role in the future

– Net zero concept

– Asset management expertise in a CCS world